Green Light for South Downs National Park: 20 year campaign succeeds after Government announcement
It has been more than 60 years in the making but today (31 March 2009) sees the South Downs become England’s 10th and the United Kingdom’s 15th National Park.
The South Downs Campaign (SDC), a network of 160 organisations is celebrating the news that the Government has confirmed the South Downs National Park in Sussex and Hampshire.
The Park will be established broadly along the lines proposed by the Countryside Agency almost seven years ago in 2002 and will bring greater protection and funding to the area. It includes the hotly contested Western Weald, Ditchling and Lewes, the subject of a recent campaign which saw Defra being sent nearly 20,000 postcards calling for the best possible National Park boundary backed by the author Bill Bryson. The Government should be congratulated for providing such a great gift to the nation.
Robin Crane, Chair of the SDC, commented:
“This is fantastic news. This decision vindicates the huge amount of work that everyone involved in the Campaign has done over the years. At times it has seemed like an uphill struggle but now it all seems worth it. We are very pleased that common sense has prevailed over the Western Weald. To have left it out would have been a national tragedy.
“We now hope that everyone will accept this decision and work together for the best interests of the South Downs. Challenging this decision would waste much time and money at a time when wastage can be ill-afforded. In many ways the hard work starts now with the establishment of a National Park Authority and preparation of new policies and plans to guide the future protection and enhancement of this very special area.”
John Songhurst, Chairman of the South Downs Society, which aims to orchestrate the 'Friends' Group for the National Park, said:
"The South Downs Society has striven to achieve maximum protection of this unique, beautiful area for over 80 years. Today's news is the best we've heard since our foundation in 1923. We look forward to working with the National Park Authority, supporting its development and channeling through constructive and amicable suggestions and criticisms. To this end, we will continue to work closely with the members of this successful South Downs Campaign and other Downland community interests.”
Ruth Chambers, from the Campaign for National Parks (CNP) said:
“This timely announcement comes on the 60th anniversary of the 1949 Act which established the concept of National Parks in England and Wales. It shows that Sir Arthur Hobhouse and his committee in 1947 were right to recommend that the South Downs becomes a National Park and is a welcome addition to the family of National Parks which enjoys public support from all over the UK.”
David Murray from the Ramblers said:
“With nearly 40 million visits a year, more than any existing National Park in the UK, the decision not to designate the South Downs in 1956 was clearly wrong. Since then people have voted with their feet. We are sure that they will continue to do so and enjoy one of England’s finest landscapes in the process.”
Neil Sinden from the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) said:
“This decision could not come soon enough for a landscape which is one of the most pressurised in the country. With the demands for new housing and large-scale development in the South East the National Park Authority will need to be a strong guardian of the South Downs. The pressures don’t stop here but this is an important step towards safeguarding this area for future generations.”
The SDC welcomes the fact that both the Inspector and the Government have listened to the public and the large number of organisations who argued for the inclusion of the Western Weald in the National Park at the re-opened inquiry. The potential exclusion of this area had raised widespread concern about its long term future and protection. Further consultations and public inquiries on setting up a new Western Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty would have been necessary, and the area would have been vulnerable in the mean time.
It is also celebrating the fact that most of the areas that the Inspector proposed should be added in his first report, particularly Woods Mill, headquarters of the Sussex Wildlife Trust, have also been included.
Tony Whitbread chief executive of the Sussex Wildlife Trust, said:
“We are pleased to have played a leading role within the Campaign and to have been successful in achieving our aim of getting a South Downs National Park. For us the icing on the cake must be the inclusion of our headquarters at Woods Mill in the National Park. Although not part of the original proposals we successfully argued that we should be included and have since bought more land up in the area and improved its environmental management.”
- Secretary of State, Hilary Benn, announces the creation of the South Downs National Park, at the Weald & Downland Museum, 31 March 2009